SUNDAY MORNING COFFEE--Week 4 Review and Week 5 Line Predictions

[RJ Esq]

101 smu
102 tulane

103 usc
104 oregon state

105 connecticut
106 louisville

107 navy
108 wake forest

109 western michigan
110 temple

111 marshall
112 west virginia

113 pittsburgh
114 syracuse

115 michigan state
116 indiana

117 northwestern
118 iowa

119 virginia
120 duke

121 north carolina
122 miami florida

123 mississippi
124 florida

125 mississippi state
126 lsu

127 northern illinois
128 eastern michigan

129 buffalo u
130 central michigan

131 cincinnati u
132 akron

133 houston u
134 east carolina

135 purdue
136 notre dame

137 minnesota
138 ohio state

139 virginia tech
140 nebraska

141 stanford
142 washington u

143 colorado state
144 california

145 alabama
146 georgia

147 tennessee u
148 auburn

149 wisconsin
150 michigan

151 maryland
152 clemson

153 fresno state
154 ucla

155 bowling green
156 wyoming

157 oregon
158 washington state

159 tcu
160 oklahoma

161 uab
162 south carolina

163 army
164 texas am

165 kent
166 ball state

167 south florida
168 north carolina state

169 colorado
170 florida state

171 central florida
172 utep

173 illinois
174 penn state

175 new mexico
176 new mexico state

177 idaho
178 san diego state

179 nevada
180 unlv

181 san jose state
182 hawaii

183 western kentucky
184 kentucky

185 arkansas state
186 memphis

187 troy
188 oklahoma state

189 florida intl
190 toledo

191 ul - lafayette
192 kansas state

193 north texas
194 rice

221 arkansas
222 texas

 

[RJ Esq]

OMG Pantsless, OMG Hopeless

from mgoblog by Brian
Two pictures that somehow summarize the directions of two linked programs follow. Be careful with your eyebrows, folks.
There have been a lot of changes in Michigan's program over the last few months, ranging from the expected (lots of shotgun, zone read option) to the… well…

…unexpected profusion of naked freshmen. Earlier this year we had the assortment of shirtless helmeted guys; now we've got freshman wideout Terrance Robinson without a helmet. Or anything else except an arched eyebrow and all that promises in the way of smooth jazz and smoother lovin'.
Meanwhile, this screencap will haunt Bill Stewart for the rest of time.

There's nothing more to say. This is Bill Stewart, now and forever. It's over.

 

[RJ Esq]

 

[RJ Esq]

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</td><td class="cc c">8:30 AM (1 hour ago)
JoPa "coaching" from upstairs today, maybe longer

from Dr. Saturday - NCAAF - Yahoo! Sports by Matt Hinton

Joe Paterno doesn't call the plays on offense or defense, so if he can't yell at the officials, I'm not sure what, exactly, he plans to be doing while Penn State is running up the score on Temple:

Penn State head coach Joe Paterno has had problems moving in recent weeks. Speaking on his Thursday night radio show, the 81-year-old acknowledged one of his legs has been bothering him.
Now it appears Paterno may spend Saturday afternoon in the Beaver Stadium coaching booth when No. 16 Penn State (3-0) hosts 1-2 Temple. Kickoff is at noon.
​

"May spend" = "will spend" as of this morning. I'm calling now for anyone who can produce a screenshot when a camera catches him nodding off in the middle of the third quarter.
This may not be an isolated incident -- Paterno's health is becoming a major issue since the ugly broken leg two years ago first relegated him to the box for the second half of the 2006 season. On the bright side: at least it's an easier exit when nature calls.






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[RJ Esq]

Images from the Weekday Games and GameDay...courtesy tvtanline.blogspot.com

 

[RJ Esq]

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</td><td class="cc c">10:29 AM (3 minutes ago)
Joe Paterno's Body Begins Decomposition Phase

from The Sporting Blog

Apologies for the flippant headline, because getting old is oh so sad. Joe Paterno has handled the foray into his 80s with grace and fire ... but his body isn't cooperating at this point. Via Black Shoe Diaries, Neil Rudel of the Altoona Mirror looks at the clues of Paterno's weakening condition.

The most significant big-picture development concerning the Penn State football program so far this season is not the Nittany Lions' 3-0 start. It's that Joe Paterno is no longer running out onto the field. In fact, JoePa isn't running anywhere: He's even having trouble walking. Paterno was not present at the team's practice Monday, and he was in a golf cart Tuesday. [...]

He's been walking with a noticeable limp, and he could be seen bent over, hands on his knees, a couple of times against the Beavers. [Team doc Wayne] Sebastianelli and team trainer George Salvatore stood close to him much of the game.​

Every year is supposed to be JoePa's last. No matter his spirit -- which has kept him afloat this long -- if the body doesn't cooperate, there's nothing you can do. This could be a good thing for the Nittany Lions, though: there's no better way for Paterno to go out than with his team at the top.





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[RJ Esq]

A Public Service Announcement

September 20, 2008 — TideDruid John Parker Wilson would like to remind Damario Ambrose of the score. Smack talk can be fun, but be sure you’re on the right side of the score when it happens, ok Damario?

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Posted in Uncategorized.

 

[RJ Esq]

Big loss last night for Texas as starting TE Blaine Irby suffered a knee injury and will be gone for a few weeks if not the season. Texas already last their backup so they will go down to their 3rd string, who is a blocker and not a receiver, and have no depth beyond that.

Will update when we have more info about the injury.

 

[RJ Esq]

Perfect ATS Teams
Georgia Tech
Penn State
Colorado
Iowa State
Oklahoma State
Oklahoma
Texas
Tulane
Tulsa
Ball State
NIU
Ohio
TCU
USC
Florida
Vandy
Troy

Perfect ATS Losers
Rutgers
Houston
UTEP

 

[RJ Esq]

Line Predictions Week 5
–TheGarfather

These are not power rated, they are just an art/science combo of where I think they will be, with a little bias for where I think they ought to be, thrown in to the mix. I’m just going to throw some numbers out and get it done with as I’m tired and not feeling particularly well (those are my excuses this week for being off.)
SMU @ Tulane -7.5 (not sure, Ponies probably just a bit worse in power rating than ULM)
USC -17 @ Oregon State
UConn -3 @ Louisville
Navy @ Wake -12
WMU -4 @ Temple
Marshall @ West Va -15.5 (Neers will outplay and beat somebody eventually)
Pitt -16.5 @ Syracuse (I’m trying to restrain myself from even thinking about it LOL)
Michigan St -10 @ Indiana
Northwestern @ Iowa -6
Virginia @ Duke -3 (I’m not giving them anything more than home field, yet…)
UNC @ MiamiFL -6 (Canes are the Coastal’s best, how pathetic is that?)
Ole Miss @ Florida -21.5 (Gators are about the fastest team I can recall in recent memory)
Mississippi State @ LSU -24 (That is too high I think, but I bet you it would split the action.)
NIU -3 @ EMU
Buffalo @ CMU -13.5 (I don’t know how to make numbers like this, that seems high)
Cincinnati -9 @ Akron
Houston @ ECU -14
Purdue @ Notre Dame -4.5
Minny @ tOSU -21
VT @ Nebraska -7
Stanford @ Washington -9.5
Colorado State @ California -23
Alabama @ Georgia -6
Tennessee @ Auburn -9
Wisconsin -11 @ Michigan
Maryland @ Clemson -10.5 (tough game to cap)
Fresno State @ UCLA PK
Bowling Green @ Wyoming -5 (good luck with this shit)
Oregon -14.5 @ Washington St
TCU @ Oklahoma -20.5
UAB @ S. Carolina -28.5
Army @ A&M -30 (??? I don’t know and don’t care, help me out here)
Kent @ Ball State -17 (all value on a BSU play was destroyed after today’s results)
USF -9.5 @ NCSU
Colorado @ Florida State -2.5
UCF -1 @ UTEP
Illinois @ Penn State -14
New Mexico -2 @ New Mexico State
Idaho @ SDSU -3
Nevada @ UNLV -6.5
SJSU @ Hawaii -7
WKU @ Kentucky -20 (no clue, ??)
ASU @ Memphis PK
Oklahoma State -24
FIU @ Toledo -14.5 (could be higher I would think, but this feels about right)
ULL @ Kansas St -24.5
NT @ Rice -7.5
Arkansas @ Texas -28 (are you still interested Mike? LOL)

 

[RJ Esq]

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</td><td class="cc c">10:08 PM (8 hours ago)
Auburn Falls Short, in a Tough Battle.

from Track Em Tigers by Acid Reign
.....War Eagle, everybody! It's Great to Be an Auburn Tiger. Auburn loses a tough struggle against a hard-nosed LSU team, 26-21. The Tigers had their chances, but defensive breakdowns in coverage cost the home team the lead in the 3rd quarter. Then, after a huge drive to to retake the lead, and a big defensive stop, Auburn failed to run the clock. LSU got another chance, and cashed it in on another breakdown in the Auburn coverage.
.....Both Auburn and LSU were VERY strong up front on defense early. In the second half, though, Auburn's nose guards got roughed up a bit. LSU was able to isolate the noseguard in the middle, and spring a fullback and tight end to take out Auburn linebackers. Charles Scott had a bushel-full of ten yard runs up the middle. Auburn's corners played well at times, but at times were out of their depth. They faced some tremendous athletes, and had difficulties. When Auburn went to the bench, they were promptly torched on a post for a touchdown. Due to the threat of Charles Scott on the ground, LSU was able to force Auburn safeties to cover dangerous receivers one on one. LSU was conservative for a while, but once they decided to throw on first down, the thinnest point on our defense was exposed.

.....On offense, LSU dominated our line up front. We cleaned up the penalties, but we absolutely could not move LSU off the ball. LSU forced us to make quick throws. They were NOT going to let the running game beat them. If we tried to go five wide, LSU blitzed. We made some of our worst plays off that "outnumber 'em" blitz. We continue to be plagued by dropped balls. I counted six. In the receiver corps, it was great to see Tim Hawthorne step up. He's got to continue to make plays, if we're to get better. Prior to Hawthorne and Dunn making some big plays, it seemed that the only Auburn receivers that a defense needed to defend, were Smith and Billings. Just let the others run free, and blitz. Chris Todd is probably going to catch a lot of blame for this loss, and as usual, he did make a few bad throws and decisions. We've gotta let him play though, as we saw with LSU's quarterback. I think he got better as the game went on.

.....Special teams imploded. We couldn't kick deep, we couldn't punt a ball farther than 30 yards, we let balls roll down deep, and we didn't block on returns. Wes Byrum did hit his kicks, so that's something. But our strength disappeared. The onsides kick was the worst. You KNEW it was coming. We were turning our backs to run down, and then not block on the kick return. Les Miles HAD to try it. Not only were we way back on it, they were able to catch it, block, and run, without an Auburn player in sight.

Grades

Defensive Line: B+. At times they made plays, but at times they were dominated. I give a grade this high, because LSU is probably the best offensive line we'll face all year. Our guys fought hard, and should be proud of themselves. Bonus for Gabe McKenzie's pick-six!

Linebackers: C. We got posted up on those inside runs, a lot. In the end, Charles Scott and LSU quarterbacks as runners, were too strong for the AU linebackers.

Secondary: C-. The secondary got burned repeatedly in the second half, being forced into a lot of man coverage by the success of the LSU running game. We don't have enough cover guys to play man against a good receiving corps like LSU. Once the quarterback settled down, we were in trouble.

Punting: D-. I'm giving this a passing grade only because we didn't get one blocked. Otherwise, it was abysmal, with a lot of short, low kicks. We got a LOT of lucky rolls. Additionally, we failed to capitalize on several mistakes by LSU return men.

Punt Returns: C-. No turnovers, and one good fair catch that saved us from being coffin-cornered, but Dunn let a LOT of balls roll.

Kick Returns: F. No blocking, and we can't even line up right. WAY too many whiffed blocks. And you can't retreat before the ball is kicked, with your back turned. You KNEW Les Miles was going to try that onsides kick!

Kickoffs: D-. We looked like last year's early team, again. If you are going to squib kick, you can't kick it right to an opposing player. You should have them scrambling to fall on the bouncing ball, if you're going to squib it.

Placekicking: A+. Wes Byrum made all three extra points. Otherwise, we were too consistent at getting sacked back out of field goal range.

Offensive Line: C. Points off on just a few bad plays in protection. These guys played strong against a defense determined to load the box, especially in pass protection. Chris Todd generally had time to throw, unless LSU sent six or more. Our run blocking was not as good, against a monster LSU front.

Receivers: B. Too many drops to give an A, but there were some encouraging signs. Rod Smith remains dangerous, and Montez Billings made plays. Tim Hawthorne and Robert Dunn stepped their games up. Tommy Trott made good blocks, but he looked like he brought last year's hands to the game.

Running Backs: C-. Had several missed protections. Tate and Lester combined for probably 70 yards. Several fumbles. On a day where we needed to knock out a few first downs, we generally couldn't.

Quarterback: C. Can't give higher than that, with more picks than touchdowns. Todd showed improvement, against a very tough defense. That's his first time to face a monster SEC unit like that, and I thought he had his moments. At times, Todd is wildly inaccurate. He also will learn that you just can't take a sack when you're in field goal range, standing with an empty backfield, and the defense showing a six man rush.

.....There have been calls in previous comments, for me to grade the coaches. While I'm not ready to start that, I thought there were a few notable failures. Obviously, our special teams had a really bad day, and seemed like they were not ready to play. Or even line up correctly. That's a tough grade for Eddie Gran.

.....Tony Franklin had some obvious good ideas on how to attack the LSU secondary, but in a low-scoring game, he MUST coach Chris Todd to let go of the ball before we get knocked out of field goal range. We had an under center, power formation schemed up for this game, and it got us a touchdown. WHERE was it, when we had taken a 21-20 lead, and needed to run some clock? HOW in the world does Franklin justify a five-wide set, a quick count, and a throw to LSU's bench, in that situation?

.....Once we knocked Andrew Hatch out of the game, Rhodes seemed to put WAY too much emphasis on blitzing Jarrett Lee. We let their running game get going, and we did not have what it takes to man up with a spread-out LSU formation. For the first time this year, Rhodes got seriously out-schemed, in the second half. In fairness to Rhodes, we did get overpowered at the point of attack a lot, in the second half. It was a choice of letting Charles Scott gut punch us to death, or having safeties cover wide receivers. Play action on first down killed us...

.....I'm sure Les Miles will take more criticism for outrageous game decisions, but from where I sat, I thought he and his staff called a better game than we did. Gary Crowton is scary, when they let him open up the offense...

.....We Auburn Tigers can't cry about this one for long, though. A ticked off Big Orange bunch comes in next week, and we face another talented group of athletes. Both Auburn and Tennessee are implementing new offenses, and from my perspective, Auburn does seem to have a leg up, having had success against LSU. UT didn't fare so well, against Florida.

.....War Eagle, and good night!





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[RJ Esq]

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</td><td class="cc c">9:31 PM (9 hours ago)
Return of the Lesticles, by attrition

from Dr. Saturday - NCAAF - Yahoo! Sports by Matt Hinton

As far as passive spectating goes, there aren't many feelings better than that moment you realize you're watching a personal classic, one of those games you'll remember for years no matter how it goes down in the larger narrative. These are the games when you can barely sit still watching even if you don't have a rooting interest, barely stop babbling at the screen no matter who's around, and you want to call your dad just to make sure he's seeing this, because he raised you to appreciate it. When you're somehow physically exhausted after three-and-a-half hours on a couch, that's a great game. LSU-Auburn entered that territory around the time Andrew Hatch was predictably concussed in the third quarter and sure-to-be-overnatched Jarrett Lee trotted on like a lamb to the slaughter. Within five minutes, Lee elicited raised eyebrows for a pair of tough completions and one audible "Wow!" for fluttering a ball into the perfect spot to close Auburn's lead to four while being knocked into a liquid state. And Les Miles followed that in quick succession with a successful onside kick and later a halfback pass to take the lead, with an impossible sideline catch by Auburn in between. As always, Miles' balls defy gravity, and for a second after that, it seemed both sidelines would erupt into some kind of primal, hooting, chest-thumping standoff, until either Miles or Tommy Tuberville ventured across the field and cracked the other with an antelope femur. This is basically what the rest of the game was like.
So tomorrow is for hashing out LSU's demonic pass rush and the sudden appearance of Adam's apples and unmentionable hairs on a pair of fully-tenderized quarterbacks -- especially Lee, the hero of LSU's comeback despite putting the Tigers in the hole to begin with one of the worst passes ever launched in the state of Alabama (remember: this is the state that produced Freddie Kitchens, but nothing he nor any other hapless cracker ever emitted matches the ball of suck Lee halfheartedly lobbed into the flat for a gimme Auburn touchdown in the first half). For now, just be able to appreciate that you saw it, if you saw it (if you didn't, stay up for the replay, or find someone with TiVo), and be glad you don't have to wake up tomorrow with whatever's left of Andrew Hatch's brain.






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[RJ Esq]

<table><tbody><tr><td colspan="3" class="storytitle">Instant Analysis: Wake Forest-Florida State </td> </tr> <tr> <td class="primaryimage" valign="top">
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</td> <td valign="top"> <table bgcolor="#f5f5f5" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="1" width="60%"> <tbody><tr valign="top"> <td valign="middle" nowrap="nowrap">By Matt Zemek
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Last week, Auburn and Mississippi State filled the game film with a cringe-inducing display of Saturday evening slop. This week, Wake Forest and Florida State created the newest batch of Football Follies material, littering Doak Campbell Stadium with another heaping helping of foul-ups, flops and flubs.
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Under normal circumstances, the headline story from an early-season conference game as big as this one would usually feature the triumph of the winner and the devastating nature of the defeat experienced by the loser. Had the Demon Deacons and Seminoles produced a more pedestrian brand of ball, the night’s top story in Tallahassee would have been Wake’s ability to establish itself as Clemson’s main contender for the ACC Atlantic Division crown. On a day when Virginia Tech took control of the ACC Coastal, this night fight in the Florida panhandle should have been an occasion to celebrate the continued excellence of Wake Forest.

But after this ugly affair, it’s hard to give the Deacs their due, even when their nine-point win over Florida State made Jim Grobe’s group the first ACC team to beat Bobby Bowden’s Noles in three consecutive seasons. No, after the gobs of goofs and gaffes provided in this painfully poor pair of pigskin performances, one can only say that the Deacons won this game by default. On a night when Wake’s shaky and shank-filled play would have resulted in a loss against many FBS opponents, the Noles improbably managed to muster up even more miscues.

This touchdown-free contest had a simple back-and-forth flavor: A Florida State quarterback would throw an interception (once in a while, the Noles would cough up a fumble), and then the Deacons would drive into enemy territory, only to find a way to avoid scoring. Wake fumbled at the FSU 1 on one drive, got stopped on downs inside the red zone on another, and watched decorated kicker Sam Swank shank two chip-shot field goals (of 27 and 32 yards) on two other drives. With all the turnovers and good drive starts that fell into Wake’s lap, this contest could have been a rout. But with their boatload of blunders, the Deacons amazingly kept the Noles in the thick of the fight—down just one possession at 9-3—until the final two minutes of play. Only when Swank avoided another short-range miss, finally giving Wake a two-possession lead in the game’s dying moments, could an unsettled Grobe finally relax. He knew his team tempted fate far too many times. But because Florida State proved to be even more inept, the visitors from Winston Salem were able to survive their trip to Tally.

Yes, Wake Forest is in position to challenge Clemson for ACC Atlantic Division supremacy. But without a better brand of ball, the Deacons will have to say their prayers as their conference season unfolds.
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[RJ Esq]

Boise State QB ignores Autzen crowd, lights up Ducks

Posted by Jeff Smith, The Oregonian September 20, 2008 18:55PM

Categories: Breaking News, Football, Top Stories
EUGENE -- He had heard it all week.
Heard all about how the noise of Autzen Stadium would be too much for a freshman quarterback to handle. How those self-proclaimed "D-Boyz" of the Oregon secondary would take advantage of his inexperience.
Rather than get overly excited about his first career road start, Boise State freshman Kellen Moore said he just followed the game-plan and let his teammates do the rest.
"This offense is pretty much unlimited," Moore said. "We can do whatever we want."

Greg Wahl-Stephens/Associated PressBoise State quarterback Kellen Moore savors victory Saturday after completing 24 of 36 passes for 386 yards and three touchdowns against Oregon.
It seemed that way Saturday as the redshirt freshman overcame the pressure from the Oregon defense to complete 24 of 36 passes for 386 yards, three touchdowns and one interception in Boise State's 37-32 win over Oregon.
"I'm a freshman so I knew they were going to come after us," Moore said. "We just got in sync and worried about what we were doing. You can't really worry about the crowd."
Boise State coach Chris Petersen and defensive coordinator Justin Wilcox know all about the Ducks' home-field advantage. Petersen was an assistant coach at Oregon from 1995 to 2000 and Wilcox played for the Ducks from 1995 to '99.
"This is big," Petersen said. "I know Oregon had some quarterback issues and stuff that helped us. But even with that, you can see how explosive they are. Those guys do a heck of a job."
As Oregon trimmed its deficit late in the game, the crowd kept getting louder. It was a familiar feeling for Wilcox, who was a part of many Oregon comebacks as a player.
This time, though, Wilcox wanted to make sure the noise didn't influence his team.
"You've got to have mental toughness," Wilcox said. "You've got to block all that out. It's hard to not let it affect you, but I think that was critical to have guys not freaking out."
For most of the game, the majority of the noise being made came from Boise State's fans. Especially in the second quarter, when Moore threw two touchdown passes to help the Broncos outscore the Ducks 24-0.
"That just goes to show that the coaches were right when they made the decision on quarterback," Broncos senior running back Ian Johnson said.
Johnson was especially grateful for Moore's performance because of the way the Ducks' defense bottled him up. Johnson, coming off two consecutive 1,000-yard seasons, was held to 40 yards rushing Saturday with one touchdown.
After walking up the tunnel after the game, Johnson was greeted by a familiar face.
It was a face that wasn't only familiar to him, but to the millions of viewers who watched the end of Boise State's dramatic overtime win over Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl in January 2007. That was when Johnson famously took advantage of a postgame interview and proposed to his girlfriend on national television.
Chrissy Popadics, who is now Chrissy Johnson, wore a "Mrs. Johnson" name on the back of her No. 41 Boise State jersey and posed for photos with her husband. That Fiesta Bowl moment will be one the couple will always treasure, but he's happy to finally have another "huge win" to add to the family scrapbook.
"We've forgotten about that Oklahoma win," Johnson said. "That Fiesta Bowl got a lot of those guys here, but then once you get here, you've got to make something part of your legacy. And these guys really do feel like they've done something great at Boise State now."

 

[RJ Esq]

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</td><td class="cc c">Sep 20, 2008 (13 hours ago)
Exit East Carolina, but Boise State still loves this schtick

from Dr. Saturday - NCAAF - Yahoo! Sports by Matt Hinton

Scroll down or click here for the Doc's live blog, running all day. Match the most impressive winner of the first two weeks of the season with the most impotent major loser, and what do you get? Naturally: sayonara, East Carolina. Nice knowing you.
So: what? In any case, ECU laid a stunning defensive egg today, but it's not just that the Pirates looked mediocre again -- they are mediocre, through and through. So are both of the alleged heavies they made their name against, one of them a loser by its own hand Thursday, the other surviving by the skin of its teeth and a gift or two for the second week in a row. Virginia Tech and West Virginia were massively overrated based on past returns, East Carolina got a boost by beating them before anybody knew any better, and we don't have to pay undue attention to any of them anymore.
Boise State, on the other hand, heretofore ignored for no very good reason, bombed Oregon into oblivion, and bought itself a ticket into the "BCS Buster" dance (or, if the "fly in the ointment" dance, if you're Tim Brando and obsessed to the point of insanity with hackneyed colloquialisms). It's a rapidly shrinking card: the BYU-Utah winner, basically, and now the Broncos. Who never went away, really -- there just wasn't any room for them in the discussion. They're in it now, grasping their newly-minted BCS trophy and holding on tight that Oregon -- poor, quarterback-less Oregon -- isn't bound for overrated flop-dom.






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[RJ Esq]

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</td><td class="cc c">Sep 20, 2008 (13 hours ago)
Vols Hit Rock Bottom; Gators Only Scratching Surface Of Potential

from The Sporting Blog

They started hitting the exits with two minutes left in the third quarter, caught by CBS’s Shamecam: Tennessee Volunteer fans. The scoreboard camera zoomed in on a Vol fan in the front row: to a dwindling crowd of 80K or so, he held both hands out in a pleading gesture, buried his hands in his face on a few thousand square feet of Jumbotron staring at a stunned, sullen stadium. Tennessee is a very, very bad football team right now. Let their awfulness stand as one of the great early verdicts of this season. Tennessee is the opposite of good, its loss against UCLA illustrated no great accomplishment by UCLA, and the Clawfense has thus far been an extraordinary, fizzling failure in its first year of existence. (Or, as I prefer to call it, "Cromptonicity.")
Tennessee’s offense is less a West Coast attack and more an exercise in unproductive counterintuition. Third-and-short on a series when we’ve been running the ball effectively? Nearly picked pass coming up! Third-and-goal with a timeout in the bag? Another pass, except this time Florida picks it off to end another scoring threat at the half. Your buddy at Vegas, who doubles down on double deuces? Dave Clawson sees what he’s doing, and likes it, buddy.
You could have heard the loud, audible sucking sound in the stadium had it not been for the steady, raining shower of boos descending from the stands. Crompton takes off running for his life on third down like anorexic, alternate universe Tebow and gets hammered to bring up fourth down? BOOOOOOO. Jonathan Crompton attempts to throw a paper cup into the trash can? BOOOOOO. Notice, that says “attempts;” Crompton’s attempt skipped twice and fell harmlessly to the turf.
Crompton finished 18-for-28 with no TDs and a crucial end zone pick despite facing little pressure from the Florida defense. (The bizarre part of their offensive misfiring: Crompton had ample time to throw thanks to good pass blocking along the line.) His most notable accomplishment came after scrambling for a first down with the score sitting at 27-0 and then taunting the defense. Please note that DeShawn Stevenson is no longer alone in the pantheon of poorly contextualized taunting.
Meanwhile, for the second straight game, Florida’s relative offensive anemia surfaced: 243 yards of total offense and 96 yards passing and 26 yards rushing for Tebow, who has not looked particularly Heisman-ish as of yet. Tennessee’s defense -- especially linebacker Rico McCoy and defensive back Eric Berry -- played excellent football and limited Florida’s chances, but the Gators misfired on chances throughout the game, and have yet to explode in 2007 fashion. (Tennessee actually outgained them on the day by 15 yards.
Go ahead and put it on the storyline watch list: Florida will detonate in the next two weeks or so. When it happens, it will not be pretty, and grief counselors should be standing by to assist with the traumatized survivors.
With Brandon James, such explosion may not be necessary, though. Fulmer looked pained throughout the postgame presser, wincing with every other sentence but owning up with every answer: “I’m a professional. This doesn’t look how we want it to look ... this starts with me.”
In an otherwise spot-on commentary on the debacle, this was Fulmer’s lone gaffe:
“James is a real good player, but we missed a lot of tackles.”
Objection: James is undoubtedly better than “real good.” His 52 yard kickoff return to open the game set up Florida’s first score; his dodging, weaving, seemingly endless 78-yard punt return for a TD put Florida up 17-0 and set up the futility that was the rest of the game. He flips fields, adds a deadly, sudden edge to the Florida kicking game, and has made Florida look much stronger in their two victories in name-brand matchups than they actually are.
The bottom for Tennessee may be reached; if this isn’t it, then I don’t want to watch whatever that nadir may be. Florida’s potential, though, is a long, long way off from delivery. If and when it arrives, the results may be terrifying, and the flash from the explosion might be visible from space.






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[RJ Esq]

<table><tbody><tr><td colspan="3" class="storytitle">Instant Analysis Virginia Tech-North Carolina </td> </tr> <tr> <td class="primaryimage" valign="top">
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</td> <td valign="top"> <table bgcolor="#f5f5f5" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="1" width="60%"> <tbody><tr valign="top"> <td valign="middle" nowrap="nowrap">By Matt Zemek
Staff Columnist
Posted Sep 20, 2008
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The state of North Carolina already witnessed one surprising collegiate football game on Saturday when N.C. State knocked off East Carolina. In a weird but real way, however, Virginia Tech’s escape job against Butch Davis’s Tar Heels might have carried even more of a “wow” factor.
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Even though the Hokies enjoy a reputation as one of college football’s more successful programs over the past decade, it was hard to imagine that—when trailing 17-3 midway through the third quarter—Virginia Tech could get off the canvas to score a pair of touchdowns and make things interesting in Chapel Hill. Tyrod Taylor and the rest of Tech’s offense was summarily smothered by the defensive wrecking crew in Carolina blue in the game’s first 35 minutes. In a contest dominated by defense, the Tar Heels didn’t enjoy sustained dominance, but on just three snaps—two passes of over 25 yards, and a 50-yard touchdown run by Greg Little—the home team was able to catch a little lightning, enough—at any rate—for a 14-point advantage and a big dose of momentum.

With the Hokies unable to do anything whatsoever on offense, the outlook was bluntly bleak for the boys from Blacksburg. Carolina’s defense seemed likely to keep Tech in check. The Butch Davis project was about to take another massive step forward, as the Tar Heel football program appeared ready to re-emerge on the national scene for the first time since a fellow named Mack Brown worked wonders on Tobacco Road in the 1990s.

Given the widely-acknowledged awareness of this game’s significance for North Carolina, the subsequent turn of events carried far more freight than East Carolina’s fall from grace earlier in the afternoon.

Yes, just when the Hokies seemed down for the count, they smartly and swiftly marched to a touchdown to cut Carolina’s lead to 17-10. Shortly thereafter, Little—the same man who romped 50 yards for a touchdown a few series earlier—put the ball on the turf, and in a heartbeat, the tone of this tussle changed considerably. Emboldened and encouraged after Little’s very big fumble, Tech needed just five plays to tie things up at 17. After one more exchange of possessions, the Hokies scratched out a field goal to take a 20-17 advantage. Big Mo wore maroon and orange at that point, and with UNC missing starting signal caller T.J. Yates—who left just before Little’s touchdown run in the third quarter—the homestanding Heels were going to need something special from backup quarterback Mike Paulus in order to pull out a victory in this crucial (ACC) Coastal clash.

Interestingly enough, Paulus admirably led his mates downfield to the Tech 24, displaying far more game than anyone was prepared to expect. As surprising as the Hokies’ 17-point surge proved to be, a Carolina touchdown—delivered by the unlikeliest of heroes—would have served as an even more amazing plot twist on an entirely unpredictable afternoon.

So close to victory and the spoils of a late-game conquest, Paulus—playing out a poignant narrative that is familiar to sports fans everywhere—tried so hard to be the big dog that he forced a pass into traffic inside the Virginia Tech 5. The one bad decision made by a young quarterback who generally played well was—as is so often the case—the one decision that came back to haunt Paulus. Victor Harris picked off the pigskin at the Hokie 2, and with a stout running game down the stretch, the Hokies used field position to take command of their division in the ACC.

Some might say that the outcome could have been different had T.J. Yates not been injured, but such an argument falls flat when one considers that Virginia Tech’s offense—not its defense—is what ailed Frank Beamer’s boys against North Carolina. It was the offensive side of the ball that finally came to life for the Hokies when they needed a boost, and it was Carolina’s ground game—not its passing game—that faltered precisely when the Heels needed to protect their hard-earned lead. All in all, North Carolina played very well against the fortunate Hokies… just well enough to lose a close one, that is. The Tar Heels might have shown that their best days are ahead of them, but the veteran Hokies reminded the ACC that in the present moment, they still know how to close the deal within the conference. The road to the ACC title will now have to run through Blacksburg.
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[RJ Esq]

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</td><td class="cc c">Sep 20, 2008 (14 hours ago)
Dose of Reality: Personnel Deficiencies

from Bruins Nation by Nestor
Another game, another week and once again Neuheisel's Bruins were out manned and outgunned, losing to a more talented team with explosive fire power.
Bruins gave it a good shot and they certainly gave a great effort:

Photo Credit: AP Photo/Gus Ruelas (via ESPN)
However, they had no answer for the explosive combination of Tutitama, Thomas, Gronkowski, and Grigsby. Bruins fall by a score of 10-31. Here is the box score and AP recap.
On the bad side our offensive continues to remain ineffective. Special teams was a nightmare and the defense still had issues with tackling at times.
On the positive side we saw some improved play from our OL. Coleman made a nice impression and Walker's defense gave a great effort despite having to deal with short field.
Right now, we have no choice but to remain patient. As Papadakis noted during the broadcast our biggest issue right now is "personel deficiencies" on both sides of the ball. And it will take Neuheisel and his coaches a while to turn this thing around as Papadakis put it, "Dorrell didn't leave Neuheisel a lot to work with."
We gave it a best effort, but we simply didn't have the ammo. For now though we have to stay patient, take these losses (just like we did during Howland's first two years ... and note it will take longer to turn around a football program), and take this game by game. We don't have a lot of other choice.
Chin up and hang in there. And of course use this thread to fire away with your post game thoughts.
GO BRUINS.






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[RJ Esq]

Knee Jerk Reactions: Troy

from Buckeye Commentary by Massey
I have not had a chance to watch the game, read recaps, or listen to post-game press conferences, but the following are some things I noticed from the stands:

¬ Where was Ray Small? No punt returns or routes. They brought him in for one play (a reverse, which was horribly executed) and nothing more.

¬ Why were the safeties playing at least 15 yards off the ball all day? By my very unofficial count, Troy threw exactly one pass beyond 20 yards all day. I was dying a little bit in the early second half as those draws plays were consistently getting 5 and 6 yards. I could not understand why the safeties were not being used to support run defense.

¬ Speaking of the defensive backs, Donald Washington did not see much playing time but when he played for an entire drive, Troy drove for its only TD. Not saying he was the reason for the touchdown, just an interesting coincidence.

¬ Shaun Lane has been great on special teams. He was everywhere today following up his big fumble recovery against Ohio.

¬ Brewster seemed to play well at center. Without watching it again on TiVo it is hard to tell, but there were no bad snaps or false starts (that I remember), which is even more impressive when you consider the tandem of Pryor-Brewster had a collective six games under their belt.

¬ Correct me if I am wrong, but I do not remember one pass being thrown on first down. Pryor threw it better than anyone had hoped and I thought a few first down passes would have helped him even more.

¬ I am not sure what most people thought, but I liked the strategy used by Ohio State at the end of the first half. They had 16 seconds left and one timeout and chose to let the clock run to 1 second and then took a shot at the end zone. I know they could have tried a play before calling the timeout in hopes of getting a FG attempt, but with such a young quarterback I thought the call made a lot of sense.

¬ Is that the first we have seen of Nathan Williams? I cannot remember seeing #43 on the field before.

¬ Kurt Coleman’s two interceptions may be the most athletic catches you see all year - offense or defense. Very impressive.

¬ Pryor looked better than I could have hoped. If I noticed one thing, it seemed that he was a little hesitant on the read option handoffs. On a few occasions it seemed like holes closed on him because he did not make a decision right away. I know it is nitpicking for a freshman.

¬ Can we all agree to never run the option again? The spread option does not work well because there is no inside threat and essentially becomes a stretch play. I do not like it, even with Pryor running it.

¬ I thought the OSU defense was coached up well and bad tackling caused all of their problems. Even then, they held a high-octane offense to 10 points. I thought they played well.

 

[RJ Esq]

Sunday Box Scorin': Canes come alive, Bruins take another dive

from Dr. Saturday - NCAAF - Yahoo! Sports by Matt Hinton

The week in weird, wild and eye-popping numbers. • Chane Moline's 40-yard run in the second quarter was more than UCLA's entire running game had gained in its first two games combined. But it took UCLA's Kevin Craft 27 minutes to complete a pass for a first down, and the Bruins were held under 200 yards total offense in a 21-point loss to Arizona. That happened once in Karl Dorrell's tenure, last year against Southern Cal.
• Miami gained almost as many yards (131 to 140) and scored more points (14 to 3) in the first quarter at Texas A&M than it did in the entire game at Florida.
• After giving up 580 yards, 42 points and seven turnovers in last year's loss to Florida Atlantic, Minnesota picked off Rusty Smith four times to hold FAU to 276 yards and a field goal.
• Utah outgained Air Force by 249 yards, and scored the winning touchdown with :58 seconds left.
• Top rusher Jonathan Dwyer averaged more than 14 yards per carry and Georgia Tech ran for 438 yards as a team against Mississippi State, with six runs over 20 yards. The Bulldogs gained 400 total yards and scored seven points.
• Alabama's top three running backs averaged 13.3 yards on 23 carries against Arkansas.
• Boston College and Central Florida combined to throw seven interceptions, but B.C. won by 27 points.
• Clemson's Cullen Harper was intercepted twice in the Tigers' rout of South Carolina State, but backup Willy Korn completed all seven passes, passing and running for a touchdown in the fourth quarter.
• Central Michigan's Dan LeFevour accounted for 403 yards rushing and passing in the Chippewas' loss to Purdue.
• Texas Tech scored touchdowns on seven of its first eight possessions against UMass, and fumbled on the other.
• And Tulsa's David Johnson remains on pace to smash every single-season passing record: he bombed New Mexico for 469 yards and six touchdowns Saturday, giving him 15 touchdowns in three games and an astronomical pass efficiency rating over 225. Almost 16 percent of Johnson's passes have gone for touchdowns.

 

[B.A.R.]

10:29 AM (3 minutes ago)
Joe Paterno's Body Begins Decomposition Phase

LMAO

 

[B.A.R.]

Off quick look from gar's lines, Purdue and Michigan look veeery nice..


Time to start hitting more dogs as we get into that part of the year.

 

[carolinablue]

Here is where I think the lines will open in week 5....Am pretty sure I am off on at least a few, so feel free to add your opinions in the thread, thanks.


101 smu
102 tulane -14.5

103 usc -21.5
104 oregon state

105 connecticut
106 louisville pk

107 navy
108 wake forest -12.5

109 western michigan -7.5
110 temple

111 marshall
112 west virginia -12.5

113 pittsburgh -17.5
114 syracuse

115 michigan state -10.5
116 indiana

117 northwestern
118 iowa -10.5

119 virginia
120 duke -3.5

121 north carolina
122 miami florida -5.5

123 mississippi
124 florida -17.5

125 mississippi state
126 lsu -17.5

127 northern illinois -3.5
128 eastern michigan

129 buffalo u
130 central michigan -7.5

131 cincinnati u -8
132 akron

133 houston u
134 east carolina -6.5

135 purdue -2.5
136 notre dame

137 minnesota
138 ohio state -16.5

139 virginia tech
140 nebraska -6

141 stanford
142 washington u -3.5

143 colorado state
144 california -13

145 alabama
146 georgia -3

147 tennessee u
148 auburn -7.5

149 wisconsin -7.5
150 michigan

151 maryland
152 clemson -9.5

153 fresno state -6.5
154 ucla

155 bowling green -4.5
156 wyoming

157 oregon -12.5
158 washington state

159 tcu
160 oklahoma -16.5

161 uab
162 south carolina -17.5

163 army
164 texas am -21.5

165 kent
166 ball state -12.5

167 south florida -8.5
168 north carolina state

169 colorado
170 florida state -2.5

171 central florida
172 utep -3.5

173 illinois
174 penn state -17.5

175 new mexico -3
176 new mexico state

177 idaho
178 san diego state -4.5

179 nevada
180 unlv -3.5

181 san jose state -2.5
182 hawaii

183 western kentucky
184 kentucky -17.5

185 arkansas state -3
186 memphis

187 troy
188 oklahoma state -14.5

189 florida intl
190 toledo -18.5

191 ul - lafayette
192 kansas state -17.5

193 north texas
194 rice -15.5

221 arkansas
222 texas -27.5
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[frankiegotti]

RJ let me first off by saying this is the best thread ever on Sundays, so a Thank You is in order.

If Hawaii is able to lay 7 to SJSU, I think I may be a buyer in terms of the points, but will have to see first HG's write up on the game.

I'd sure like that PSU game, but I think closer to 10 would be in the kill zone for me. Illini showed last year against USC (while PSU is no USC) that if there are a variety of talented players on offense Illini defense has a very difficult time stopping them, also add the addition of a mobile QB and I think a 17 to 24 point win for PSU may be in order here.

I like Auburn as well, last night there offense suddenly came to life. I think they have the ability to score and I think they will against Tennessee. UT dosen't have the offensive ability to do much of anything against Auburn (Auburn's defense is awesome and heavy hitters). I would like around -7 here but I have a feeling that the line gets released somewhere around -8.

USF- I think that they had NCSU on there minds as there performance was just awful. I think my brother's pee wee football game was more intriguing than that game against FIU. I really think they were looking ahead to next week's bout with NCSU. Although, I don't know that much about the two school's so let me know if some think a look ahead isn't reasonable to assume.

South Carolina- If Tennessee can beat UAB by 35 then SC could beat UAB by 45 I wouuld think. SC has a strong defense and since it is an SEC school does get it's fair share of athletes on offense. So I would think that a 4 TD win would not be out of the question if they just lined up straight and ran at UAB much like Tennessee did. Will have to check injuries on this game though as I think SC could rest some people. Although kind of scared that SC played a 10 point game against I-AA Wofford, I know they are a good 1-AA team but still the differntial of talent betweeen the two schools has to be great.

A&M on the road, I will be buying here at anything at 24 or less. I A&M showed some life against Miami, but ultimatley Miami was too great for A&M.

Kent, I will need at least 21 to make this one a play....I agree with you RJ that all value was destroyed and I think that Ball State will beat Kent but the question as always is by how much. I think that BSU may come into this weekend a bit overhyped and often box scores of these largely unknown MAC teams may mislead some people. I look for an over inflated line.

Oklahoma- I'm lookking at anything less than 21. Betting Oklahoma early in the season has been money much like the cowboys as they are an early season darliing. But as the season go on it gets tougher and tougher for them to cover. I think you can basically name your score in this one. I don't think OU scoring 50 would be out of the question. Need to look at schedules in this one as well, just to make sure OU dosen't have a game against UT or another big 12 rival.

UGA at a TD or less is a big play for me. I was amazed in watching the linemen for UGA cycle in and out. It really isn't fair to see how many good defensive linemen UGA had. They will wear down and beat down a O-Line and a QB over the course of a game. UGA DB's are also very talented and I think they can play press coverage and largly control what Alabama does. Also, I forget his name but UGA has a captain on defense that is a 2nd year true softmore and he is all over the field making plays, he really impressed me last night. Hopefully that D-Linemen that went down last night will be available to play this weekend.

CMU at anything less than 10. Buffalo can not and will not be able to handle Dan LeFevour (or however you spell his name). If you look at Buff's ATS record against mobile QB's then you wilil see what I mean. I think CMU can rout Buffalo, but then again will have to check injuries because I didn't hear anything about CMU's game last weekend. So we'll see.

Nebraska, Looking at anything -7 or better. Bo is bringing a new sense of culture to Nebraska, which is a very hard thing to change. I truthfully believe that VT is starting to realize how bad they are and that this trip across country will not be as fun as orginally planned. I think this game will be a story of defense. If the line was released at -7 more than likely i'd buy the hook.

Ole Miss- If I get more than 21 I am taking them hard.....I really believe Ole Miss can be competitive in this game, they have 4 trench players that are figured to go early if they want to. I'd like to say they were looking past vanderbilt but then again it is vanderbilt and should of won if there trench players were that great. I still have faith in Ole Miss and believe they will deliver agian on saturday.

Marshall, I thought they were going to have a look ahead game last weekend, but to my amazement they played quite well. I still think anything over 14 points is a gift and WV locals and students are starting to realize that this hiring was a mistake. You don't let the nice guy who's been there his entire life be the head coach.

Stanford, I am looking to get two TD's here at least. I was hoping that SJSU would beat them straight up so I could get more value here, but will have to see what the lines get released at. Washington much like last season had high asperations but now is starting to realize what they are. Talented at a couple spots and not very talented at others. I think this game they play for ML.

Northwestern- Thinking of taking the points in this spot but I need to research this game further as Iowa really could blow them out.

 

[B.A.R.]

Nice post Gotti

 

[carolinablue]

Based on my projected lines, these would be my leans...

MINNY
BGSU
OKLA
A&M
PSU
TOL

 

[nawlins51]

I hate Les Miles.He reminds me of Elmer Fudd. LSU still drops 3 this year.Florida,Georgia and the shocker - Bama.

 

[Dmoney416]

101 smu
102 tulane -12.5

103 usc -20
104 oregon state

105 connecticut
106 louisville pk

107 navy
108 wake forest -13

109 western michigan -4.5
110 temple (DiMichele status? I make this 8 if he's out)

111 marshall
112 west virginia -15

113 pittsburgh -17.5
114 syracuse

115 michigan state -8.5
116 indiana

117 northwestern
118 iowa -12

119 virginia
120 duke -6.5

121 north carolina
122 miami florida -3.5

123 mississippi
124 florida -19

125 mississippi state
126 lsu -21.5

127 northern illinois
128 eastern michigan PK

129 buffalo u
130 central michigan -7.5

131 cincinnati u -14
132 akron

133 houston u
134 east carolina -8

135 purdue -3
136 notre dame

137 minnesota
138 ohio state -16.5

139 virginia tech
140 nebraska -7

141 stanford
142 washington u -5

143 colorado state
144 california -16

145 alabama
146 georgia -7

147 tennessee u
148 auburn -7

149 wisconsin -7.5
150 michigan

151 maryland
152 clemson -10

153 fresno state -6.5
154 ucla

155 bowling green -7
156 wyoming

157 oregon -15.5
158 washington state

159 tcu
160 oklahoma -16.5

161 uab
162 south carolina -18

163 army
164 texas am -26.5

165 kent
166 ball state -9.5

167 south florida -7.5 (love this spot for USF)
168 north carolina state

169 colorado
170 florida state -4

171 central florida
172 utep -3.5

173 illinois
174 penn state -11.5

175 new mexico -3
176 new mexico state

177 idaho
178 san diego state -9

179 nevada
180 unlv -5

181 san jose state
182 hawaii -2

183 western kentucky
184 kentucky -19

185 arkansas state -3
186 memphis

187 troy
188 oklahoma state -16

189 florida intl
190 toledo -13.5

191 ul - lafayette
192 kansas state -17

193 north texas
194 rice -13

221 arkansas
222 texas -24

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[Dmoney416]

Based on my projected lines, these would be my leans...

MINNY
BGSU
OKLA
A&M
PSU
TOL

You would take PSU at -17.5 CB? Illinois might be my favorite play of the week at that number.

 

[carolinablue]

You would take PSU at -17.5 CB? Illinois might be my favorite play of the week at that number.

Would definitely be on my leans list at that number. Doesn't mean it would be a play, but would definitely warrant a closer look as I think the running game could cause problems for Illinois.

 

[RJ Esq]

Franki-- :shake:

It's only as good as it because of all the contributions from people here.

 

[Dmoney416]

Would definitely be on my leans list at that number. Doesn't mean it would be a play, but would definitely warrant a closer look as I think the running game could cause problems for Illinois.

Makes sense. I won't argue PSU's edge at the line of scrimmage, but after watching their last two full games, I still doubt Clark's throwing ability, and I firmly believe that the Temple game would have been more like 35-14 if DiMichele hadn't been injured early.

 

[RJ Esq]

Still waiting for images from Saturday's games, but here are the images from Gameday from tvtanline.blogspot.com:

 

[RJ Esq]

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</td><td class="cc c">8:15 AM (18 minutes ago)
Around The Big 12: Week 4

from Double-T Nation by Seth C

Baylor: I'm not sure why, but I found myself cheering for UConn this game. Robert Griffin is going to be a fabulous Big 12 quarterback, but he still needs to master some of the finer points of being a quarterback. Griffin was slowed by the UConn defense while the Baylor defense gave up 225 yards a game on the ground. The UConn quarterback never really looked down field, so I'm not sure how much the Baylor pass defense was tested. This was not a bad loss at all for Baylor. They showed poise, but they just couldn't convert plays when necessary (boxscore). Up Next: Idle

The Ralphie Report: An exciting win for Colorado over West Virgnia, on what may be the prettiest setting for a college football game in the U.S. I digress. Cody Hawkins was efficient, not spectacular, while freshman running back Rodney Stewart had 166 yards for the day. The Colorado defense held West Virginia to 43 yards passing and although Pat Wite (148 yards rushing) and Noel Devine (133 yards rushing), West Virginia just couldn't get anything going. A really good win for Colorado who have to go to Tallahassee this week (boxscore). Up Next: @ Florida State

Clone Chronicles: I'm not sure how ISU stayed in this game, but the Cyclones lost in overtime to UNLV. Iowa State converted only 2 of 14 3rd downs and managed only 306 yards in total offense. UNLV jumped out to an early 21-0 lead, and ISU went on to out-score UNLV 28-7 after half. Iowa State QB Austen Arnaud isn't throwing the ball down the field, and there isn't any ISU running back that is running all over the place. UNLV racked up 454 yards of total offense (boxscore). Up Next: Idle

Rock Chalk Talk: Kansas struggled a bit to put away Sam Houston State and the return of Rhett Bomar. Bomar (26-46, 340 yards, 1 TD, 3 INT) put up pretty good numbers against the Jayhawks, but it was the interceptions that killed the Bearcats. I'm wondering if a Big 12 quarterback with Big 12 talent is going to take advantage of that Kansas defense that gave up over 300 yards passing. It was nice to see Kansas rush for 161 yards on the ground and Todd Reesing was back on track with 356 yards in the air, 2 TD's an no interceptions. (boxscore). Up Next: Idle

Bring On The Cats: I thought that K-State may have turned the corner, with a more mature Josh Freeman and an influx of JUCO players to shore up the defense, but that's not what happened on Thursday as the Wildcats were handled by Louisville. But perhaps most of the blame should be on the shoulders of head coach Ron Prince who only rushed the ball 12 times the entire game. The defense allowed 577 yards of total offense, including 303 on the ground. K-State has one more game before conference play, and it will be interesting to see how they respond, despite the opponent being less than stellar (boxscore). Up Next: LA Lafayette

Rock M Nation: Another Big 12 team that struggled to put away an inferior opponent, Buffalo. The Bulls were only down by 6 at halftime, due in large part to 3 Missouri fumbles. Other than the fumbles, the Missouri offense moved the ball at will, gaining 590 yards of offense as Chase Daniel went 36-43 for 439 yards and 2 TD's. That aint bad. Jeremy Maclin is still pretty good (14 receptions, 168 yards receiving; 2 rushes, 25 yards rushing). The Missouri defense only allowed 49 yards on the ground (boxscore). Up Next: Idle

Corn Nation: The Cornhuskers were idle. Up Next: Virginia Tech

Crimson and Cream Machine: The Sooners were idle. Up Next: TCU

Oklahoma State: The Cowboys were idle. Up Next: Troy

Burnt Orange Nation: Colt McCoy is shaking off his sophomore slump with a very solid season thus far and is just leading the offense as much as humanly possible. I'm still a little concerned that there isn't a Longhorn running back that is stepping up. Freshman RB Cody Johson led all running backs, but McCoy (83 yards 1 TD) and John Chiles (72 yards 1 TD) led the team. The Texas defense did a great job of stopping the run, allowing only 17 yards on the ground, although Chase Clement and his mustache did manage 254 yards in the air (boxscore). Up Next: Arkansas

I Am The 12th Man: Poor Aggies. The first pass play for TAMU resulted in a beautiful Mike Goodson catch and run for 62 yards and a TD. The Aggie offense sputtered after that against an incredibly fast Miami defense. But it was the aggie defense that was the true culprit, as the Hurricanes scored on 5 connsecutive possessions in the 2nd and 3rd quarters (including a fumble return). The defensive line for TAMU was just awful at times. Sherman has a long ways to go (boxscore). Up Next: Army






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[Schrute]

I'd like to hear what ETG thinks about the So Car UAB game but if it opens under 20 then I'll be on the Gamecocks for a few reasons. Yes they only beat Wofford by 10 but Wofford always gives them trouble with that ball control offense that chews up the clock. Also Spurrier has indicated that Stephen Garcia may start against UAB. He is much more mobile and can't be a worse passer than Smelley-cock. UAB runs more of a prostyle offense than Wofford and will likely be limited to 7-10 points in Columbia. Spurrier will do his best to run this one up if the opportunity is there. Anything under 20 is a gift IMO. We'll see

 

[Seabass]

If Uconn opens up giving points, you better bet it quick, because theres no way that line ends with UConn favored, IMO...

 

[RetroVK]

key situational spots and trends and bye weeks to consider ,,,,,,left some out , like sunbelt ..will leave that to the experts ...

--tennessee is 12-0 against the number week following florida ( PS )

--kentucky off a bye week

--arkansas at texas rescheduled game

--wisconsin and michigan off byes

--oklahoma off a bye

--oklahoma st revenge game vs troy from infamous " I'm a man , I'm 40 " game. okie st off bye

--nebraska off a bye

--duke off a bye , lalich kicked off team

--oregon st off a bye , usc off a bye ...

--Cal off a upset loss and bye. First game outside state of colorado for csu

--oregon in sandwich spot vs wazzu , does it matter ?

--ucla faces fourth straight tough opponent

--huskies off a bye , stanford revenge, possible lookahead to notre dame

--pittsburgh gets cuse ina sandwich between iowa and usf national tv game. does it matter ?

--louisville revenge game vs uconn from infamous fait catch td game. both temas off midweek games

--wyoming is still division 1 ... BGSU off a bye

--sdsu off a bye

--revenge game for smu after ot loss to tulane last year

--revenge game for memphis after collaps last year blowing 25 point halftime lead .. yes i had them and only got a push. sigh.

--rivalry game , nevada off a bye , unlv seeking triple revenge

--hawaii off a bye . sjsu seeking revenge after fumbling ball away while running out clock and eventually losing in ot. off demoralizing loss.

--revenge game for notre dame.

--Buffalo first ever game at central michigan

--toledo catches fiu in sandwich between fresno st and ball st

 

[JPicks]

155 bowling green
156 wyoming -3 ?? really no idea, nor do I care

159 tcu
160 oklahoma -20' (Oklahoma has revenge here from '05)

143 colorado state
144 california -22

175 new mexico -2'
176 new mexico state

177 idaho
178 san diego state -7

179 nevada
180 unlv -6

Love this card.

 

[frankiegotti]

Nice post Gotti

:cheers:

 

[frankiegotti]

Ron English sure got that defense straightened out from last week, although they played Kansas State so I'm not sure it's that big of a statement.

But at the very least they were finishing play, wrapping people up, and getting back to the fundamentals they were missing against Kentucky. Louisville looks good in this spot, although we'll have to see what the oddsmakers do. If I were Ron English, I would try to rotate more people into the defensive front 7 mix as much as possible because let's face it they aren't playing for a big east championship this year and this would be one of those moves where they are moving towards the future.

 

[E.T.G.]

I'd like to hear what ETG thinks about the So Car UAB game but if it opens under 20 then I'll be on the Gamecocks for a few reasons. Yes they only beat Wofford by 10 but Wofford always gives them trouble with that ball control offense that chews up the clock. Also Spurrier has indicated that Stephen Garcia may start against UAB. He is much more mobile and can't be a worse passer than Smelley-cock. UAB runs more of a prostyle offense than Wofford and will likely be limited to 7-10 points in Columbia. Spurrier will do his best to run this one up if the opportunity is there. Anything under 20 is a gift IMO. We'll see

I supported a Wofford 1st half play this week, that would of cashed but I don't have a 5dimes account.

Wofford as you said, runs that GT-like option offense, its a real bitch to defend, especially with 5 days of practice coming off a tough loss. We were very flat to start the game as well which doesn't surprise me.

I agree with UAB being limited to around 10 points but this offense is really bothering me.

There are a few players who are suspended for this game (Mike Davis, RG Heath Bathcelor, DE Jordin Lindsey). McKinnley is still out at well. Obviously it is now Maddox/Baker at RB for this game, hate to see a shake up on an OL still trying to gel and we have enough depth on the DL to replace Lindsey.

Garcia, its unknown how much he is going to play or if he is going to start, Smelley was responsible for 2 picks and a fumble versus Wofford, SC has 12 turnovers through the 1st four games of the year. I would of liked to see Garcia play in the Wofford game but he did not, but for me I feel like they just need to take the chain off of him and let him go play. LSU was forced to let Jarrett Lee go out there and play and he made mistakes (pick 6) but he also made some great throws and he led them back to victory. Garcia has a whole world more talent than Smelley and they just need to let him go out there and play. If he wasn't an asshole and missed the last 2 spring practices, he would no doubt in my mind, be the starter right now. UAB has what is equal to one of the top 5 worst defenses in 1-A football, SC better score 30+ .

I'm not sure I can advocate a play on anything over 24 though, this offense looks awful at times.

“Chris hit a few balls here and there. He probably did some decent things. I don’t know if we need to let Garcia play or not, next week. I’m thinking about it. I’m just at the point where … Chris, we sort of know what we get with him. I don’t know if Garcia can do better or not. I know in pre-game warm-ups, he threw better than anybody. He had the best ball in pre-game warm-ups, for whatever that’s worth. Whether or not he knows where they’re going or not, we probably got to hurry up and find out. We’re in a rut here. Maybe we’ll let him take off and see what happens next week. If he’s not very good, we’ll come back with one of our other quarterbacks. I think (Chris) is doing the best he can. We just got to see if somebody else can do more. Maybe they can’t. Maybe everybody’s covered and there’s no protection, we got to find out. We got to try Garcia now, we got to try and find out if he can play.”

 

[RJ Esq]

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</td><td class="cc c">11:36 AM (54 minutes ago)
Suckfest 2008: Ball State 42, Indiana 20.

from The Hoosier Report by John M
42-20, and it wasn't that close. That's what surprised me the most about yesterday's game. As I said earlier in the week, I knew that IU could lose. I knew that Ball State could score a lot of points. I knew that neither IU's offense nor defense had been tested against a quality opponent. As I also made clear, Ball State's long losing streak against the Big Ten and other BCS conferences seemed due to end, as did IU's long and anomalous winning streak against the MAC. I can live with the loss, but the manner of the loss is tough to swallow. Flukes happen, but this wasn't a fluke. Ball State is a significantly better team than IU. Significantly, and in every aspect of the game. They took whatever they wanted, and IU never dictated the game offensively or defensively, other than for one drive in the second half which ended with missed field goal. Is Greg Middleton still alive? Reminiscent of Antwaan Randle El against top tier Big Ten opponents, IU's offense was limited to scrambles, designed or improvised after a glance downfield, by Kellen Lewis.

Speaking of Lewis, his decision to throw into traffic late in the second half, giving Ball State a hand-delivered defensive touchdown, was inexcusable for a quarterback who has started around 25 games. Geno Johnson's ten-second-after-the-play-sissy-slap of a Ball State player probably saved a Cardinal drive that put early points on the board. On the other side of the field, one one play, Ball State lost its best player and surrendered a defensive touchdown, but after the long break BSU didn't blink. It's unbelievable that IU couldn't do any better than that after a bye week.
One one level, I and most IU fans knew that this Hoosier team was unproven, with James Hardy gone on the offensive side and without Tracy Porter and Leslie Majors on the defensive side (obviously those guys really were missed against Ball State). On the other hand, I think most suspected that IU would be about on par with last year's team, at least in terms of record. Now, we have to face the possibility that after the fun of last year and all the promise it presented, we could be taking a huge step back, or at least hitting a big pothole. We can't beat a single Big Ten opponent with an effort like the Hoosiers produced last night. Still, the coaches are professionals, they must have seen what we all see, and hopefully they can find a way to compete with a MSU team that made us look silly last year.
Rant over. Here's the box score. Highlights and lowlights:

• Miquale Lewis was outstanding, particularly in the second half. IU had its moments against the rushing attack early, but BSU always responded with a long completion.
• Nate Davis is going to be a starting QB in the NFL. While not mobile, his ability to evade the rush is impressive. His numbers (16-25, 239) weren't eye-popping, but they don't capture how well he played.
• It was a damn shame that Dante Love suffered what appears to be a serious, career-threatening injury. I don't mean to make light of it when I say that if told before the game that such a thing would happen, I wouldn't have thought it possible that Ball State would win by 22.
• Any Ball State fan who claims that Adkins's hit was dirty or intentional deserves every "teacher's college" barb that comes his way.
• IU's three running backs all averaged between 4.2 and 4.7 yards per carry, but Kellen Lewis carried the ball more often (25 times) than the running backs combined (22).
• Lewis's passing: 11-25, 159, 2 INT.
• Greg Middleton: 2 tackles, no sacks; Jammie Kirlew: 4 tackles, no sacks.

There's no point in belaboring it. We got whipped by a program that had never beat us before. Nothing that can be done. Big Ten teams have overcome losses like this before, but again, this wasn't a game where everything went wrong and all the bounces went against us. This one could have been worse. Still, we're 0-0 in the conference and will have our opportunities to figure it out. Last season, after a disappointing loss to Illinois, we rebounded with a road upset of Iowa. Let's hope the coaches can find a way out.






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[RJ Esq]

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</td><td class="cc c">11:32 AM (58 minutes ago)
Sunday Morning Rewind: Turns out A.J. Green is the manifestation of the rest of the SEC's worst nightmares

from Dr. Saturday - NCAAF - Yahoo! Sports by Matt Hinton
Whatever else it had, whatever other rankings and accolades came cascading in for Georgia through the summer, at least there was always one caveat: they're not reliable in the passing game. Matt Stafford's right arm could be hacked up, melted down and sold for millions, but the receivers have inconsistent hands, there's no go-to guy, no game-changing, uh, no single presence who makes defenses, um, respect him, to, uh ...

<embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/NyrZ_7N1Yx0&hl=en&fs=1" flashvars="undefined" allowscriptaccess="never" wmode="transparent" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="344">Popout​

I use that clip only because the half-dozen better catches A.J. Green hauled down amidst two and three Sun Devil defenders apparently aren't up yet. Not that you could have missed them on the highlight shows, or the writing on the wall if Green really is what he looks like from here on: Georgia's offense is impressively, horrifyingly complete, moreso now than any other point in the Mark Richt administration. Stafford's never had a true No. 1 receiver, as D.J. Shockley and David Greene before him never had a runner approximating Knowshon Moreno. Saturday night was a full cabinet on full display, and an open invitation to anyone who ever said "just stack the box."
Arizona State netted four yards rushing, by the way. Just in case Alabama fans were wondering how to play "keep away" Saturday in Athens. There's ony one way to go from here: man up and actually try to stop Moreno, or try to knock the pigment out of Stafford's hair via outrageous blitzes. Godspeed, gentlemen.






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[carolinablue]

Based on the matchups, not seeing much I like in week 5, so pretty sure this will be the lightest card of the year for me by far.

Should be hitting my rollover limits at the greek after week 6, so may move my cash via sportsbook transfer over the bookmaker beginning in week 7 so I can grab some of the early lines the rest of the way.

 

[carolinablue]

Unless something crazy shows up at the greek in terms of opens, my week 5 plays will more than likely come from the following pool of contenders..

Tulane
USC
WMU
Florida
LSU
Purdue
Minny
Auburn
Fresno
BGSU
Oregon
Oklahoma
South C
A&M
Ball State
USF
PSU
SJSU
Kentucky
Troy
Toledo
Rice
Texas


All other games have been eliminated from contention, unless of course the line screams value vs the variance I am expecting vs my "true line"

 

[pags11]

thanks for the info. guys...

 

[M.W.]

Tulane
Duke
Rice

 

[frankiegotti]

RJ, any shot you have that youtube clip with A.J. Green making that circus catch in high school with hand while he body motion is taking him the total opposite way.

 

[E.T.G.]

RJ, any shot you have that youtube clip with A.J. Green making that circus catch in high school with hand while he body motion is taking him the total opposite way.

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[Schrute]

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